U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear Boy Scouts appeal over San Diego park leases; case goes back to Ninth Circuit
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by the Boy Scouts of America in a complicated case involving their lease of city-owned parkland in San Diego. A lesbian couple and an agnostic couple challenged the leases in federal district court over the Scouts’ exclusion of homosexuals and atheists from their ranks.
Represented by the ACLU, the lesbian couple and the agnostic couple won the first round in the battle in 2003, when U.S. District Court Judge Napoleon Jones ruled that the leases violated the Constitution because they amounted to a religious preference on the part of the city of San Diego.
The Scouts appealed Judge Jones’ ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which, on Jan. 5, 2009, referred the matter to the California Supreme Court, asking the state court to interpret some questions of California law before the federal appellate court made a decision. The federal appellate justices wanted California’s high court to answer three questions: (1) Do San Diego’s leases to the Boy Scouts result in government aid to religion? (2) If they do, does that aid serve a non-religious purpose? (3) Do the leases to the Scouts run afoul of a California ban on the state favoring a religious group?
On April 1, 2009, the California Supreme Court issued the following one-sentence disposition of the Ninth Circuit’s questions: “The request, made pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.548, for this court to decide questions of California law presented in a matter pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is denied.”
In the meantime, the Boy Scouts had filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the standing of the lesbian and agnostic couples to sue over the issue in the first place. On Monday, May 3, the Supreme Court refused to hear that appeal. The decision means the case will now go back to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for a ruling on the case.
For years, the Boy Scouts have leased 16 acres in San Diego’s Balboa Park, and another small area on city-owned Fiesta Island. The city awarded the leases under a no-bid process, and, until recently, for a small yearly fee.
The agnostic and lesbian couples decided to sue San Diego over the Boy Scout leases following a 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that the Boy Scouts could legally exclude atheists and homosexuals. The high court said the Scouts were protected under the Constitution’s right to free association. The couples filed their lawsuit following a vote by the city council the same year to extend the Boy Scout’s lease of the parklands for 25 more years.
“Young people need faith,” says the Boy Scouts national website. “There is abundant evidence that children benefit from the moral compass provided by religious tradition. We acknowledge that faith can become an important part of a child's identity. Each of the major faiths breeds hope, optimism, compassion, and a belief in a better tomorrow. Scouting encourages each young person to begin a spiritual journey through the practice of his or her faith tradition. One of the key tenets of Scouting is ‘duty to God.’ While Scouting does not define religious belief for its members, it has been adopted by and works with youth programs of all major faiths.”
Represented by the ACLU, the lesbian couple and the agnostic couple won the first round in the battle in 2003, when U.S. District Court Judge Napoleon Jones ruled that the leases violated the Constitution because they amounted to a religious preference on the part of the city of San Diego.
The Scouts appealed Judge Jones’ ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which, on Jan. 5, 2009, referred the matter to the California Supreme Court, asking the state court to interpret some questions of California law before the federal appellate court made a decision. The federal appellate justices wanted California’s high court to answer three questions: (1) Do San Diego’s leases to the Boy Scouts result in government aid to religion? (2) If they do, does that aid serve a non-religious purpose? (3) Do the leases to the Scouts run afoul of a California ban on the state favoring a religious group? On April 1, 2009, the California Supreme Court issued the following one-sentence disposition of the Ninth Circuit’s questions: “The request, made pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.548, for this court to decide questions of California law presented in a matter pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is denied.”
In the meantime, the Boy Scouts had filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the standing of the lesbian and agnostic couples to sue over the issue in the first place. On Monday, May 3, the Supreme Court refused to hear that appeal. The decision means the case will now go back to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for a ruling on the case.
For years, the Boy Scouts have leased 16 acres in San Diego’s Balboa Park, and another small area on city-owned Fiesta Island. The city awarded the leases under a no-bid process, and, until recently, for a small yearly fee.
The agnostic and lesbian couples decided to sue San Diego over the Boy Scout leases following a 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that the Boy Scouts could legally exclude atheists and homosexuals. The high court said the Scouts were protected under the Constitution’s right to free association. The couples filed their lawsuit following a vote by the city council the same year to extend the Boy Scout’s lease of the parklands for 25 more years.
“Young people need faith,” says the Boy Scouts national website. “There is abundant evidence that children benefit from the moral compass provided by religious tradition. We acknowledge that faith can become an important part of a child's identity. Each of the major faiths breeds hope, optimism, compassion, and a belief in a better tomorrow. Scouting encourages each young person to begin a spiritual journey through the practice of his or her faith tradition. One of the key tenets of Scouting is ‘duty to God.’ While Scouting does not define religious belief for its members, it has been adopted by and works with youth programs of all major faiths.”
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